Boyfriend murders plot: UC Riverside student in court

A University of California-Riverside student is accused of trying to get ex-boyfriends to kill other ex-boyfriends. She was in court Friday, where two of the young men testified.

Barbara Wu, 21, was charged with soliciting murder, making terrorist threats, vandalism and stalking, among other crimes. She will soon find out if she'll face trial for allegedly asking two former boyfriends to kill two of her exes.

Friday, the target of the most recent alleged plot testified he feared for his safety after he broke up with Wu via email.

He says Wu repeatedly attempted to contact him and when he refused, she vandalized his car and posted his picture, cellphone number and address on a Craigslist sex ad.

Because the man is considered a victim, he was only identified as "John Doe #1." Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Nicole Marian asked him about the online advertisement.

"Something along the lines of, 'Trying to de-stress during finals and I'm down to do anything,'" said "John Doe #1."

Wu's attorney fought back, pointing out that Wu was a victim of domestic abuse. During the testimony her ex-boyfriend admitted to punching her in the face during a heated argument, but said he did so in self-defense.

"She guarded the door with a knife, she tried to attack me with the knife -- and that's all I remember," he said.

But Wu's attorney says after that incident, the victim sent mixed signals, first ignoring Wu and then going over to her apartment following the breakup.

"Why did you go over to her house and have sex with her?" Wu's defense attorney asked.

"'Cause she kept calling me," he said.

The prosecution then called on the man who eventually turned Wu in. At times during Doe #2's testimony, Wu appeared amused and smiled at her onetime boyfriend.

He testified that during their four-month relationship Wu constantly talked about getting revenge on her ex.

"She asked me to kidnap him and tie him up so she could break his legs with a bat, to 'motorcycle' him and then to somehow kill him and then dispose of the body," said Doe #2.

The preliminary hearing will continue on Monday. The judge is expected to hear from two more witnesses before determining if there is enough evidence to move forward with a trial against Wu. Wu has pleaded not guilty to charges against her.

Wu, who enrolled at the university in 2009, was arraigned on May 31 and remains jailed.